


Heart to Heart & Hand in Hand

by LittlebutFiery



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Holiday Harbinger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlebutFiery/pseuds/LittlebutFiery
Summary: When Maria Ryder gets caught up trying to find gifts for Jaal's entire family, she needs a little reminder of the real spirit of the season.





	Heart to Heart & Hand in Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marvacu](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=marvacu).



> The title comes from the end of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," which gets referenced a lot in this fic!

“…and he, he himself, _the Grinch_ , carved the roast beast!”

Maria snuggled in closer to Jaal as the movie ended. “Well, what did you think?”

Jaal was quiet for a moment before saying, “I see why this is a treasured fairy tale among your people. Its message…is powerful.”

Maria smiled. “I’m glad you liked it.”

“Is this where the legend of the Santa comes from?” Jaal asked. “Liam mentioned it to me.”

“…what did Liam tell you?” Maria asked, skeptical. While she trusted Liam with her life, she did _not_ trust him to not feed Jaal utter bullshit for a good laugh.

“He was a great warrior and protector of your people, delivering food and gifts to those in need during the cold months,” Jaal replied very seriously.

Maria laughed. “That’s…not entirely wrong, I guess?”

“Liam also told me that he has a small spacecraft that travels faster than light and that he is a fearless robber, breaking into homes and leaving the gifts there,” Jaal continued.

“That’s…not quite…right,” Maria sighed, making a mental note to talk to Liam later.

“I did not think so,” Jaal said. “He would need a large spacecraft to carry presents for the humans on Earth.”

“Santa is an old myth from Earth,” Maria replied. “He would keep track of which children were good and which were bad, and he brought presents to the good children. He had a herd of flying reindeer who helped him travel.”

Jaal pondered this a moment. “I believe I prefer Liam’s version."

“Speaking of presents, I need to get some for your family,” Maria said. “It’s almost Christmas, and it’s a human tradition to give gifts to loved ones and family members on Christmas.” 

“Do not worry about this,” Jaal shook his head. “You remember how large my family is.”

“I can do it!” Maria protested. “It can’t be that hard.”

“I admire your courage, my love, but save it for battle. Your presence is enough of a gift for my family. They adore you,” Jaal replied.

“I’m a pretty lame present,” Maria frowned. “Just give me a list of your mothers and brothers and sisters. I’ll find things for them. Small things, I promise.”

Jaal sighed. “Very well.”

 

By day three of Operation Santa, as she’d begun to call it, Maria was hating everything.

She was NOT one to back down from a challenge, so thirty-three presents for his mothers and siblings, along with a particularly nice one for his true mother, at first, hadn’t seemed so bad.

But then she considered the facts.

She’d only met most of them once, briefly, in the chaos and bustle of Jaal’s family home. The only names she had immediately remembered were of Baranjj, Teviint, and Lathoul, and that was only because of the drama of the meeting with Akksul. It wasn’t as though she’d had time to stop and ask what their favorite foods or weapons were.

This was a terrible, horrible, useless idea, and she was too stubborn to give up on it.

The others were starting to notice, too, after she’d nearly bitten Gil’s head off when he cracked a joke at her expense. Everyone was walking on eggshells, which was only making her anxiety worse.

Vetra had gotten her a bottle of brandy from _somewhere_ , quietly leaving it on her bedside table. Drack made her favorite lasagna. Peebee programmed Poc to make funny voices at dinner, which prompted Liam to get into a ridiculous-voice-contest.

All of this would have made her feel better, were it not for the concerned look that Jaal kept giving her throughout the meal.

“My love,” Jaal said, walking into Maria’s room once dinner had ended. “I am worried.”

“You don’t say,” Maria grouched.

“Did you not say the upcoming holiday was your favorite?” Jaal asked. “You have been…not yourself, of late.”

“Just stress, that’s all,” Maria waved him off.

“About finding presents for my family?” Jaal asked, coming over to hug her.

Maria sighed, trying to relax into Jaal’s arms. “Yes.”

“Let me share your burden, my love. Or relieve it. You needn’t get them gifts for a human holiday. If you would like to celebrate with us, your presence will be gift enough,” Jaal assured her.

Maria shook her head. “No, I’m _going_ get them something. Just because something’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing.”

It was Jaal’s turn to sigh. “At least let me help.”

“I’ve got this,” Maria insisted. “I already have a few ideas.”

Jaal smiled. “I am glad to hear this. I am sure my siblings will be thrilled.”

 

She didn’t have a few ideas.

In fact, she didn’t have any.

Maria wandered the streets of Aya’s capital city for hours, looking through all the various vendors’ stands, chatting with merchants and Resistance soldiers and civilians and even the bartender at the tavetaan.

None of them were particularly helpful, though the idea of Christmas – where a god was reborn as a child to a poor family – seemed to fascinate them. She’d spent more time explaining the various traditions and tenets of her faith than she had actually looking for gifts.

Kadara wasn’t much better. All they had was junk.

It looked like she was going to be _making_ their gifts.

Maria hated arts and crafts, but if they must be done, so be it.

 

Cora found her screaming at a half-finished painting later in the week, asking, “Pathfinder?”

“ _WHAT?_ ” Maria yelled, throwing her paintbrush across the room.

“I heard yelling. I’m…a bit worried,” Cora confessed, looking at the wild, paint-splattered look on Maria’s face. “Everything all right?”

“Just peachy,” Maria scowled. “I had this stupid idea to find thirty-four Christmas presents when there’s hardly anything gift-worthy in this whole galaxy. So now I have to _make_ thirty-four Christmas presents.”

“I seem to recall your dad saying you hated making things,” Cora replied, eyebrow raised.

“I do,” Maria sighed. “But it’s for Jaal’s family. I have to do it.”

“You know they wouldn’t want you to freak out over them, right?” Cora asked, kneeling down so she was next to where Maria sat.

“Jaal said the same thing,” Maria reluctantly admitted. “But I…”

“Want to show them how much you care,” Cora finished. “Right?”

Maria nodded. “Then just go spend Christmas with them. There’s nothing more precious than our time. I’m sure they’d love to have a bit of yours. Not spent on making things for them – but on spending it with them.”

“Thanks, Cora,” Maria smiled, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. “That helps a lot. I think I got so caught up in the presents I forgot what Christmas was about.”

“We can all use a reminder from time to time,” Cora nodded, offering a hand to help Maria stand.

 

Maria woke early on Christmas morning, putting on the tacky sweater she’d miraculously found in Kadara Port and brewing herself a cup of tea. She was excited for Christmas with Jaal’s family, now that she didn’t have thirty-four gifts to lug along.

Jaal seemed to sense her excitement, quietly smiling at her throughout their breakfast, throughout their shuttle ride to Havarl, throughout the trek to his family home. It was the happiest she had seen him since they had professed their love for each other.

Sahuna greeted them at the door, exclaiming, “Jaal! Maria! I am so glad you made it safely!”

Maria hugged her tightly. “Thank you, mother. I’m glad to spend the day with the family.”

The female anagara lit up. “Yes, Jaal told us all about your Christmas! We even put up a tree, and promised the _ongaan_ that you would tell us all the stories!”

Maria blinked, surprised at the enthusiasm, but smiled and followed Jaal and Sahuna inside.

Indeed, the family had put up what faintly resembled a Christmas tree – the bioluminescent Heleus tree didn’t look anything like the evergreens Maria was used to. The thought was what counted, though, and they had clearly put a great deal of thought into it. There were even small ornaments strung up throughout its strange boughs.

“What do you think?” Teviint demanded, running forward to hug Maria. “Is it just like Christmas in the Milky Way?”

“Even better,” Maria smiled, and she wasn’t lying. Christmas with a small, splintered family had never been particularly cheerful, but this was all she could have ever hoped for and more. “It’s really got the Christmas spirit.”

“I told you!” Teviint crowed, triumphant, pointing a finger at Baranjj. “We did a good job!”

“She is being kind,” Baranjj argued half-heartedly, with a smile.

“Tell us the stories of Christmas!” one of the younger siblings insisted. “And of the Santa! Jaal said the Santa was important!”

Maria laughed, sitting down in the chair Sahuna offered. The whole family gathered around her, gazing up with wonder and enthusiasm in their eyes.

For hours, it seemed, Maria told stories of the holiday – the first Christmas, her favorite traditions, stories of her and her brother’s mischief with their toys as children. Jaal persuaded her to read _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ from a copy he had illegally downloaded on the extranet. The youngest siblings were particularly enchanted with the Grinch, demanding more stories of him.

Eventually, though, the guilt at bringing nothing crept back in, and she confessed, “I’m sorry I didn’t get you any presents. They’re hard to find in Heleus.”

“Your presence is enough,” one of Jaal’s other mothers said. “This is why the humans call it a present, is it not?”

Jaal laughed. “I told you, your presence is a gift. We are happy you are here, to celebrate your holiday with us.”

“But…” Maria protested.

“Sing us a song!” one of the young siblings demanded.

“Hevaan!” Sahuna scolded.

“She said there are Christmas songs, like the yevara songs!” the little one insisted. “I want to hear them!”

“I don’t sing like a yevara, but I can try,” Maria said, faintly pink with embarrassment.

 

“You have a beautiful voice, my love,” Jaal said as they were walking back to the shuttle. “You _do_ sing like a yevara.”

Maria blushed again. “Stop it.”

“I am only being honest,” Jaal insisted. He was quiet for a moment before going on, “Thank you, Maria.”

“For what?” Maria asked, surprised.

“For spending your most holy day with my family,” Jaal replied. “We only are given so much time in this life, and for you to spend such an important day with my family and me…”

Maria squeezed his hand tighter before leaning up to kiss him. “Of course I would, Jaal. There’s nothing more important than family. Especially on Christmas.”

Jaal smiled. “So the legend of the Grinch _is_ true.”

Maria laughed. “Maybe. The meaning behind it sure is.”

They continued their walk back to the shuttle still hand-in-hand. When they arrived, Maria paused and said, “You know, there’s a Halloween Grinch movie, too.”

“What is Halloween?” Jaal asked.

Maria smiled. “It’s another holiday. We dress up as scary things and go out asking for candy.”

“…humans have some strange holidays,” Jaal said, after a contemplative pause.

“Would you have us any other way?” Maria laughed.

Jaal kissed her forehead. “No, my love. I would not.”


End file.
